Focusing initially on artists of African, Asian and Latin American descent, the Bronx Museum Permanent Collection was created in 1986 with the goal to reflect the borough's dynamic communities. Beyond The Veil focuses on an eclectic group of contemporary artists in the Permanent Collection whose works convey the complex mediation between the self and the other, between one’s allegiance to tradition and the appeal of globalism.

“It is a peculiar sensation,” wrote W.E.B. Du Bois, “this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others.” Although Du Bois (1868-1963) was clearly addressing the plight of African Americans in post-slavery society, his ideas about otherness gain renewed urgency in our era, marked by massive migration and ethnic strife. Indeed, and most remarkably, the artists featured in Beyond the Veil have opted to portray themselves on their own terms, bringing distinct senses of history onto the broader cultural debate. The exhibition also features a new series of paintings by Tim Rollins & K.O.S. made in collaboration with students from IS 218 and based on Du Bois’ seminal book Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil (1920).